Sunday 30 March 2014

Dealing with trichotillomania

Hi guys!

Today I'm going to write something that is quite personal but I think it's important.

Trichotillomania is like an addiction to pulling your hair. It's very hard to stop and it's very hard to live with.

I've been suffering with it on and off for about 2 to 3 years. It's worse when I'm stressed, bored or upset.

Before or right at the start

The main reason it's so difficult to stop is because you can't escape your hair. Unlike alcohol or cigarettes where you have to go and purchase it, your hair is always with you.

31 of December 2012 (pulling at the front)

It is possible to give up though! I'm slowly but surely getting there and my confidence level is much higher than it was.

I didn't want to go to therapy for it because I felt I could do it with the help of the people around me. The first step was to admit that I had a problem and talk to someone about it. My boyfriend and my family have been very supportive. If I go through a bad spot, I've been able to talk to them about it.


Next I tried to keep my hands busy at all times but at school that was difficult. The other problem was that school was stressful, another trigger for trichotillomania. So I tried to stay more relaxed and not worry about the small things.

February 2013

I used to have long hair so partly to hide the patches where I'd been pulling and partly to make it harder for me to pull at it, I would tie it up. I cut a fringe at the front because that's where I was pulling a lot. I've stopped pulling completely there now.

Starting to grow out the fringe I added (June 2013)

I decided to cut it short at the beginning of last october. This was to let the hair grow out more evenly so I wouldn't have very short bits compared to the rest. I also found that having it short made me pull at it less.

I later cut it even shorter and haven't cut it since. I had a patch of very thin hair at the back of my head which is slowly disappearing. As it's growing a bit longer, I've found I've been pulling more but I'm more conscient I'm doing it so it's easier to stop now.

Really short hair (December 2013)

I'm trying to take better care of my hair by using hair masks etc. This means I feel more guilty when I pull at my hair and it also helps the damaged hair.

I'm not at the end of my struggle yet but I'm getting there. It's a slow but sure progress and my goal for the end of 2014 is to have longer hair again and not be pulling it out.

January 2014 ( pretty much what I look like now)

I hope this has helped or at least made some of you aware of this addiction. If I can conquer it anyone can!

Sunday 23 March 2014

Spring is here! (Sort of)

Hi guys!

Sorry I didn't wright anything last week.

In light of the weather lately I thought I'd wright about spring and what I like about it and what I don't.


Where I live, it's started to get sunnier and warmer over the last couple of weeks. This makes me very very happy. I love blue skies and being able to soak up some vitamin D from just sitting in the sunshine. It also makes walking the dogs nicer as you don't have to freeze and get numb hands while doing it.

Harry soaking up the sun

The other thing I love about this time of year is the sound of birds singing in the morning. It's such a calming sound and I really like it.


Another great advantage is that the days are getting lighter and longer. I've found that over the past couple of years, I've been affected quite a bit by the levels of light. It lifts your mood when it's lighter and it makes it easier to get out of bed in the morning!

Belle wanting to go out

The last thing I both love and hate is that everything is starting to come into flower near where I live. I love it because it's beautiful and makes everything colourful but I hate it because I happen to suffer from hay fever. As I'm writing this I have and itchy nose, slightly puffy eyes and I feel a bit coldy. But you know what? I don't care, spring is making me very happy this year.

I hope you enjoyed this post and are having nice weather where you are!

Friday 7 March 2014

What I'm giving up for lent and why

Hi guys,

So it's the first week of lent and every year I give something up. I'm not particularly religious but I think it's a good excuse to try and get healthier or quit a habit. This year I'm giving up a few things because I have picked up a few bad habits over the past few weeks and this year I'm trying to be as healthy as possible.

The first thing I'm giving up is junk food. Fast food restaurants (if you can call them that), cheesy pizza, chips (or fries), crisps and pretty much the quick fixes. I know these aren't good for you and I've been eating too much of all that lately. Especially crisps, which is really bad.

I'm also giving up having desert at restaurants or making cake etc at home. The occasional piece of chocolate is fine but I'm going to try and limit the amount of sweet and unhealthy things I eat.


I'm not going to drink fizzy drinks either. I don't drink too many of these anyway but I'm going to stick to fizzy water during lent because I don't even like fizzy drinks that much, they're just addicting.

The last thing I'm stopping is drinking cocktails and apƩritifs. It's become a bit of a habit to go and drink a couple of cocktails at the local cocktail bar or to make them at home. Which is fine once in a while but lets face it, they're not very healthy. They're full of empty calories and alcohol.


So that's it, that's everything I'm giving up for lent. Good luck if you're quitting anything!